Sri Lanka gets US military funding as China vies for influence

The United States announced on 13 August it would grant Sri Lanka $39 million to boost maritime security as China develops its strategic hold on the Indian Ocean island.

The State Department will provide the funds as 'foreign military financing', pending congressional approval, the US embassy in Colombo said.

'We look forward to discussing with the government of Sri Lanka how this contribution can support our Bay of Bengal initiative and Sri Lanka's humanitarian assistance and disaster response priorities,' it said.

Last week, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka announced it had secured a $1 billion Chinese loan as the island develops closer relations with Beijing.

The US had stopped arms sales to Sri Lanka during the height of the island's Tamil separatist war that ended in 2009. The global power has also been highly critical of the human-rights record of the former government of strongman president Mahinda Rajapakse.

Several senior military commanders from the Rajapakse regime have been denied visas to visit the US.

The US funding for Sri Lanka is part of a $300 million package Washington is setting aside for South and Southeast Asia to ensure a 'free, open and rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region'.